\A"re*a\ ([=a]"r[-e]*[.a]; 277), n.; pl. {Areas} (-[.a]z) .
[L. area a broad piece of level ground. Cf. {Are}, n.]
1. Any plane surface, as of the floor of a room or church, or
of the ground within an inclosure; an open space in a
building.
The Alban lake . . . looks like the area of some
vast amphitheater. --Addison.
2. The inclosed space on which a building stands.
3. The sunken space or court, giving ingress and affording
light to the basement of a building.
4. An extent of surface; a tract of the earth's surface; a
region; as, vast uncultivated areas.
5. (Geom.) The superficial contents of any figure; the
surface included within any given lines; superficial
extent; as, the area of a square or a triangle.
6. (Biol.) A spot or small marked space; as, the germinative
area.
7. Extent; scope; range; as, a wide area of thought.
The largest area of human history and man's common
nature. --F. Harrison.
{Dry area}. See under {Dry}.